The Hirshhorn Museum Asked Artists About Their Influences. Amy Sherald Chose Deborah Roberts, Jordan Casteel Selected Faith Ringgold
FOR ITS FIFTH ANNUAL GALA in New York, the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is paying tribute to 42 artists, an “intergenerational vanguard” including Jordan Casteel, Faith Ringgold, Amy Sherald, Deborah Roberts, and David Hartt. The museum is assembling the group by inviting 21 artists to identify an additional honoree who “has influenced...
Detroit-Based Painter Ed Clark is Now Represented by Hauser & Wirth
PIONEERING PAINTER Ed Clark, 93, has joined Hauser & Wirth. A vital figure in post-war American painting and Abstract Expressionism, Clark has been based in New York and Paris over the course of his seven-decade career. Currently, he lives and works in Detroit. Hauser & Wirth shared news of its worldwide representation of Clark...
Latest News in African American Art: Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys Plan Art Center, New Yorker Commissions Toni Morrison Cover by Kara Walker, Smithsonian Acquires Beyonce Portrait by Tyler Mitchell & More
South African Artist David Koloane (1938-2019) The following review presents a snapshot of recent news in African American art and related black culture: South African Artist David Koloane Died at 81 A prominent figure in apartheid-era South Africa artist David Koloane (1938-2019) died June 30. “Apartheid was a politics of space more than...
World Champion Simone Biles and the Elite Competition and Complexities of Women’s Gymnastics Recently Inspired Two Painters
THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME. If there was any question Simone Biles is the greatest athlete in the history of gymnastics, she put all doubts to rest over the weekend at the United States Gymnastics Championships in Kansas City, Mo. The world’s top gymnast pushed new boundaries, delivered ambitious routines, and clenched her sixth...
Mariane Ibrahim is Opening Her New Chicago Gallery in September with a Solo Exhibition Dedicated to Ayana V. Jackson
AFTER SEVEN YEARS in Seattle, Mariane Ibrahim has moved her eponymous gallery to Chicago. The new gallery opens next month with an inaugural exhibition dedicated to Ayana V. Jackson, an American artist whose photography examines the construction of identity. Titled “Take Me to the Water,” the presentation will feature a new series of large-scale...
Latest News in African American Art: Asmaa Walton Named Bearden Fellow, Addressing Diversity Challenges, Solange Collaborating with Museums & More
Still from Solange’s film “When I Get Home.” | Courtesy the artist The following review presents a snapshot of recent news in African American art and related black culture: Solange Screening Art Film at Museums in U.S. and Europe An international slate of museums and theaters is screening an extended director’s cut...
Former News Anchor Robyne Robinson Appointed Board Chair of Recently Reopened Minnesota Museum of American Art
THE MINNESOTA MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART announced the appointment of Robyne Robinson as chair of its board of directors. A former news anchor, Robinson is the founder of Five x Five Public Art Consulting. The news was announced July 16 and she has assumed her new post. Known as The M, the St. Paul...
Renowned Washington Painter Sam Gilliam Has Joined Pace Gallery, For the First Time He is Represented in New York
OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, Sam Gilliam has been increasingly recognized as one of the most innovative and groundbreaking painters to emerge in second half of the 20th century. His lyrical, color-soaked abstractions expand the definition of painting. Practicing for more than six decades, Gilliam has had relative success throughout his career, yet he...
Four Foundations Acquired Johnson Publishing Archive for $30 Million on Behalf of Getty Research Institute and Smithsonian’s African American Museum
THE HISTORIC ARCHIVE of Johnson Publishing Company (JPC) was sold to a consortium of four foundations—the Ford Foundation, J. Paul Getty Trust, Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for $30 million. The purchase was made through an auction process that commenced July 17 and concluded yesterday. The final sale is...
Kehinde Wiley’s Black Rock Senegal Residency Announced 16 Artists Selected for Inaugural Year
Black Rock Senegal. | Photo by Mamadou Gomis, © Kehinde Wiley BLACK ROCK SENEGAL announced the first group of artists selected for the residency program established by Kehinde Wiley. Located in Dakar, Black Rock is hosting an international slate of 16 artists working in a variety of disciplines, including painting, sculpture, photography, film, and...
Spelman President Mary Schmidt Campbell Joined Board of Getty Trust in Los Angeles
THE J. PAUL GETTY TRUST has a new board member. Mary Schmidt Campbell joined the board of trustees of the Los Angeles-based philanthropic institution. Campbell is the president of Spelman College in Atlanta and author of “An American Odyssey: The Life and Work of Romare Bearden.” The Getty made the announcement July 10. The Trust...
Priceless History: Johnson Publishing Photography and Media Archive Up for Auction This Week
BEGINNING IN THE MID-20TH CENTURY, Johnson Publishing dominated the media landscape disseminating images of African Americans that defined black identity during an unprecedented period of progress and change. The photography published in Ebony and Jet magazines established a visual language and black aesthetic that came to represent the African American experience. It’s hard to...
Studio Museum in Harlem Names 2019-2020 Artists-in-Residence: E. Jane, Naudline Pierre, and Elliot Reed
“Lead Me Gently Home” (2019) by Naudline Pierre THE STUDIO MUSEUM in Harlem is welcoming three new artists-in-residence this fall. The 2019-2020 participants are E. Jane, Naudline Pierre, and Elliot Reed. The museum announced the new group today. Thelma Golden, director and chief Curator of the Studio Museum, said she was “thrilled” to...
Philip Freelon, 66, Architect of Record for Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Has Died
Architect Philip Freelon (1953-2019) ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL African American architects of his generation, Philip Freelon (1953-2019) designed artful museums, cultural centers, and civic buildings across the nation. The architect-of-record for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), Freelon died July 9 at his home in Durham, N.C. He...
